I’m as transparent as a wine glass. 
I’ll be bringing a few different bottles.
OK — So, what exactly is the theme and price range?
I read through the posts and didn’t see something definitive.
Is it Bordeaux vs Cali Cab?
Sorry Ted for any confusion as there are a lot of posts and some are vague. Originally I proposed old world , but Brian’s cellar understandably so. is very much Cali based. We did agree on Bordeaux vs Cali Cabs.
As for price range I had proposed $100 and up range as long as others are comfortable with that. I think for many of us that’s acceptable, but I also don’t think anybody should be excluded if it exceeds their comfort zone. Unless someone pipes up otherwise, then this is the rough guideline. My pick will likely be in the $200 range as I Have plenty of bottles in that range and enjoy sharing these great btls. with others. When by myself I occasionally open btls in that range, but more often I bring these btls to offlines.
If there is a “maybe” list, like if someone has to cancel, etc., I’ll be on it. I can’t commit that far out at this point, but I am definitely interested.
I know the group is getting large and the pours are getting smaller, but my wife Ann and I are interested, if there are cancellations or if you all decide that two more will work.
Hi josh and Jeff we are honored that you are interested in attending our event, but I just discussed this matter with Brian as he is the organizer and the guest of honor. We both agreed that we should max out at 10 people since pours do get very small, and the number of btls get to be a bit crazy to assess them all. I have done them before with this number but they get a lot more chaotic.
Having said this, there might become 2 spots available as Dennis and Windy who are interested in joining are not 100% sure yet and know within a few days. Although Joshua expressed interest he is not sure he can commit this far out, so If Dennis and Windy can’t join, would be thrilled to have you join.
Joshua/Jeff, I hadn’t read the thread and seen your requests. Chances are that spots may come available as has been my experience in setting these up. Life happens and things come up that affect ones plans. Jeff, you wanted to come to my first Philly offline but had a prior engagement (wedding anniversary?) Hopefully we can work something out. I’ll put you all on the waitlist just in case.
Either that or we step up our game and make it Magnums. ![[swoon.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f425e8dac3e7344bee264da02e55428971be23a9.gif "swoon"){kind=small}
![[drinkers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/82916bed5ad74ac8470bc04089d9758b0c80c9fa.gif "drinkers"){kind=small}
Jonathan, guest of honor? I’m just an expensive drunk who doesn’t want to eat/drink alone.
One 2nd thought Jeff, although this event might be full, we will know in a few days when Dennis gives a definite confirmation. If it is full the good news is if it works for your schedule there were likely be a 2nd event on Sat the 22nd. Chris and I have talked about doing a 2nd dinner which at this point is just 3 of us Me Chris and his girlfriend Catherine. He is a big time Bordeaux fan so that might be the theme. I will update within a few days whether there is room at this 1st event and that indeed we are doing a 2nd one.
Thanks guys. Keep me posted on the 21st. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll run the 22nd past my wife.
I’m unfortunately out of town on Sept 21, but count me in for the next one! I host a blind tasting group that meets at Philly BYOs, and Melograno, Little Fish, and Mercato have been very accommodating. Thanks for all the great suggestions of other good spots.
O k here’s the final scoop as long as this works for everyone. Will byob was unable to do an early start time as they can’t give us the table for the whole evening on a Friday. However if we start at 8 pm which is fine with several of us including me Chris and Brian, they can give us the table for 3 hours or so which should work. The price is $85 for a 5 course meal. They will custom tailor a menu to our wants and will provide 10 -12 stems per person which is a nice luxury for a blind tasting. In my opinion esp considering the food and they are renting glassware it is reasonable. As long as no one objects I say we go with it.
Last question would folks prefer single blind or double blind ?
I am more than up for Will. I favor single blind for one reason. That way we can all discuss among ourselves what wines we have and could potentially bring, which then allows us to fine tune the selections to particular courses.
Do we really need 10-12 stems each?
I have done a bunch of wine dinners there and we never used that many.
I totally see your point Ted, and pretty much agree. No events with my group, or any others recently attended had that many glasses. The reason it came up, was because Ben the manager, had proposed it, and I know some people prefer it . Perhaps we should just do 4 red wine glasses for a blind fight of the bordeaux and then Cabs. Then perhaps 2 champagne flutes as 2 btls makes sense for this size crowd. Personally I drink a lot of bubbly. A couple of splits of sauternes or a full btl would be nice to end with. That would be 11 btls total. Does that make sense ?
I drink my bubbles from a regular wine glass either pinot or bdx.
I wouldn’t expect a flight to be more than three or four wines at the most. Table get crowded and it makes it tough to keep track of what’s what.
Agreed champagne glasses look festive but don’t improve taste to me. Looks like 4 bdx glasses and a dessert glass works, as long as folks like to end with a sauternes.
I have about 30 of an in between type of glass that I mostly use for Champagne and Sauterne as it is compact but not
a flute, but has enough of a bowl to allow a Champagne to open up. Is there a way to post a picture of it on here? I could easily bring it to Will. As I often dine at some of the more inexpensive byobs in Philly, I usually bring my own glasses. Over the years more and more of the hard core Phillybyobers also byog.
Here is the glass, with a 750 ml and a Bordeaux half bottle to give size perspective. TY Brian for pointing out the path to picture posting enlightenment!
Built for travel!